It was recently revealed that Mel B, Emma Bunton, and Geri Horner – formerly known as Geri Halliwell – are planning a concert and new material to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Spice Girls’ debut single Wannabe.

Victoria Beckham and Mel C, however, will not be taking part.

And now, speaking in a revealing new interview with Event magazine, Melanie Chisholm has explained that her decision stemmed from a desire to protect her mental health.

The 42-year-old said: “When the Spice Girls were at their biggest, I couldn’t even really look at myself in the mirror because I didn’t like what I saw.

“Depression, eating disorders, obsessive over-exercising; I went through all of it.”

Mel C added: “‘Part of me will be Sporty Spice until I die. We had one reunion [in 2007] and I didn’t want to do that. But I was talked round and it was the right thing to do, we had a great time and then we played at the closing ceremony for the Olympics in 2012.

“That to me was where [the Spice Girls] should have been laid to rest. Sometimes you just have to say no.”

Beckham – aka Posh Spice - has yet to speak publicly about her own decisions for turning down the Spice Girls reunion offer.

However, speaking to James Corden on The Late Late Show earlier this month, Mel B said that she believed it had a lot to do with the businesswoman’s work with her fashion line.

Topics

Share this article

Author

Kayleigh Dray

Kayleigh Dray is editor of Stylist.co.uk, where she chases after rogue apostrophes and specialises in films, comic books, feminism and television. On a weekend, you can usually find her drinking copious amounts of tea and playing boardgames with her friends.